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The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing post-harvest losses and improving Nigeria’s food system through the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme. 

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the federal inter-agency technical committee meeting on the SAPZ programme.

He said the initiative was a key pillar of the government’s agricultural transformation agenda, designed to reposition the sector from raw commodity exports to value addition, agro-processing and market-driven production.

According to him, SAPZ will reduce post-harvest losses, improve productivity, attract private-sector investment, create jobs for youth and women, strengthen food security, and boost rural incomes across participating states.

Mr Ogunbiyi said the programme aligns with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, as well as broader goals of economic diversification, import substitution, food security and rural industrialisation.

He said SAPZ was not merely an infrastructure project, but a strategic platform for turning rural communities into centres of economic growth and industrial development.

The permanent secretary added that the ministry would continue to provide policy direction, coordination and an enabling environment to ensure effective implementation of the programme.

Earlier, the Director, Federal Department of Development Partners, Dr Iluromi Adebola, said SAPZ would support sustainable agricultural transformation through value addition, agro-industrialisation, and private-sector participation.

She noted that the inter-agency committee plays a critical role in ensuring coordination, policy alignment and timely resolution of implementation challenges.

Also speaking, the National Project Coordinator of SAPZ, Dr Kabir Yusuf, said the programme had already supported farmers with inputs and training on extension services, good agronomic practices and community seed production systems.

He added that SAPZ was designed as a cross-cutting platform to attract private investment in agro-processing, with the potential to enhance food security, create jobs, reduce rural poverty, and increase agriculture’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP). 

(NAN)

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April 27, 2026

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The Ministries of Investment and Foreign Trade, Supply and Internal Trade, and Agriculture and Land Reclamation  announced on Sunday 1 March coordinated measures to assess the repercussions of recent airspace restrictions in several countries, including Iran, Israel, Iraq, and the Gulf states. 

This heightened coordination follows the missile attacks launched by Iran on U.S. military assets in the region, which have led to significant disruptions in trade routes crucial for Egyptian exports.

In a joint statement, the ministries emphasized their commitment to monitoring the situation closely and to ensure that state authorities remain responsive to ongoing developments. 

They are working in collaboration with export councils, private sector representatives, and relevant authorities to formulate fast responses and implement sector-specific solutions to the challenges posed by these airspace closures.

Efforts are currently focused on exploring alternative logistical solutions, such as shifting exports to maritime or land transport, depending on the destination market. 

The ministries are also facilitating regulatory and commercial procedures to reroute shipments affected by the closures. This includes enhancing collaboration with supply chains and retail outlets to absorb additional domestic supply while maintaining price stability.

Exporting companies have been urged to directly connect with relevant authorities to report any obstacles they may encounter. Each ministry has designated specific points of contact, including the General Organization for Export and Import Control and the Holding Company for Food Industries, to streamline these interactions.

The ministries reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing joint coordination, pledging to take all necessary measures to ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods.

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Addis Abeba — Ethiopia has generated $288.48 million from the export of more than 160,000 tons of horticultural products during the first seven months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year, the Ministry of Agriculture announced, despite concerns raised by stakeholders over infrastructure gaps, logistics constraints, and land supply management.

The ministry disclosed the performance following a consultative meeting with relevant public institutions and local and foreign investors engaged in the horticulture sector to assess progress over the reporting period.

Minister of Agriculture Addisu Arega said the country exported 160,317.79 tons of horticultural products — including flowers, fruits, and vegetables — generating $288.48 million in revenue. The figure represents 70.9 percent of the planned export target for the seven-month period, ENA reported.

Addisu noted that horticulture, alongside coffee, remains one of Ethiopia’s priority export commodities, highlighting its strategic importance in boosting foreign exchange earnings.

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“The government is committed to addressing bottlenecks that hinder investors and ensuring they can fully operate their farms and facilities,” the minister said, adding that efforts are underway to strengthen private sector participation and improve coordination across the sector to enhance productivity.

He also urged investors to make effective use of allotted land, cautioning against leaving portions idle.

During the discussion, participants pointed to persistent challenges, including infrastructure deficiencies, logistics constraints, and land supply management issues, calling for swift government intervention to sustain growth momentum.

Executive Director of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association Tewodros Zewdie said the association is prioritizing policy advocacy, capacity building, market linkage, and the promotion of social and environmental sustainability within the industry.

“Our priority is to enhance the competitiveness of members and foster sustainable growth in the horticulture sector through innovative and practical services,” he said.

The review session underscored the sector’s expanding role in Ethiopia’s export portfolio and the need for coordinated action to achieve annual export targets.

Ethiopia’s horticulture industry has faced mounting challenges in recent years, largely driven by security concerns in parts of the country.

In March 2025, Addis Standard reported that Selecta One, a Germany-based horticultural firm operating in the conflict-affected Amhara region, announced the relocation of its operations to Kenya and Uganda, citing what it described as an “unstable political situation and tense military environment.”

The company’s decision to shut down its site in Kunzila, in North Achefer district of West Gojjam Zone, resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. In a statement at the time, Selecta One said the closure followed prolonged logistical disruptions that could not be permanently resolved under prevailing conditions.

“The closure of the site in Ethiopia has been carefully considered and is ultimately necessary, as the major logistical challenges of the past two years could not be permanently resolved under the current conditions, even with the greatest efforts,” the company said. “Most importantly, there was no guarantee that the safety of employees could be ensured to the required extent.”

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JOHANNESBURG – There is breakthrough in the landmark stone fruit protocol South Africa and China signed in October.

This week, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen officially saw off the shipment of approximately  20-thousand cartons of premium plums.

The plum export deal is expected to pave the way for cherry and blueberry export protocols, which are set to be finalised soon.

It also marks a significant step in helping farmers diversify beyond traditional destinations, and tap into rising global demand.

China imports agricultural products worth about $200-billion each year.

South Africa currently captures only about 0.4% of that market.

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The patience of Narendra Modi govt seems to have paid. The US-India joint statement issued by the White House on Feb 6 gives some relief. It indicates what is likely to come in the trade deal.

It is still an ‘interim agreement’ and there is no explicit mention that India will stop buying crude oil from Russia. More details will be known only when final agreement is reached sometime in March. But this joint statement surely shows convergence of interests between the two countries, and my preliminary research shows that it is likely to be mutually beneficial.Here are some of the details, which indicate that the trade deal is likely to be fair to both sides.

The big gain is obviously to come from massive drop in import duties by the US from 50% to 18%. This will benefit immensely India’s labour-intensive sectors, especially textiles and apparel, leather goods, gems and jewellery, and even agriculture. In the absence of this deal, there could have been a major loss in India’s exports to the US in 2026.

If you want to gauge its impact on the ground, talk to any apparel exporter in Tirupur or diamond exporter in Surat or shrimp exporters in Andhra Pradesh.

They are heaving a big sigh of relief and celebrating. Indian exporters can now compete very well with their competitors, be it Bangladesh or Vietnam, which attract 20% duty, and India will be at a big advantage vis-a-vis China if the import duty on China’s exports to the US remains at 35% or so.

India has shown its ‘intent’ to buy lot of energy products, aeroplanes, and high-tech equipment from the US, which may be totalling roughly $500 billion over the next five years.

So, there is some clarity on this front too. There has been lot of concern in India over the agriculture imports. The joint statement clearly states, “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soyabean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.

“The point to note is that there is no explicit mention of corn or soyabean, which are GMO (genetically modified organisms) products and about which India was concerned, although India’s own cotton seed is a GM product. However, soyabean oil is there, which has been coming in any case from the US. The real new area is DDGs (distillers dried grains), which are in crushed form and it can be soyabean, corn, or any other grain, which are basically co-product of ethanol and used as poultry feed.

India has been using its own grains (primarily corn and rice) for ethanol. There could be some substitution there with Indian DDG for feed, provided imported ones are cheaper. That will help India’s poultry become more competitive.Tree nuts and berries have been of great interest to the US. Their biggest agri-export of the US to India has been almonds. Almost 90% of almonds being sold in India are from the US. They attract a duty of Rs 42/kg, which in ad valorem terms works out to roughly 10% of import value.

But walnuts attract 120% duty currently, which is likely to be slashed to somewhere near almonds. Similar would be the case with pistachios, pecans, cranberries, blue berries, etc.

Their import duties are likely to be brought down to within the range of 10-15%.Duty on cotton imports, which is at 5%, may be down to zero. Story of cotton is interesting. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken a bold decision in 2002 to allow the first GM crop, Bt cotton.

The production of cotton jumped from roughly 13 million bales in 2002-03 to 39 million bales by 2012-13, making India the largest producer of cotton and second largest exporter of cotton. But then around 2014-15, we started messing up with this gene revolution by cutting down the trait fee to the company that had IPR of Bt cotton.

As a result, that company walked away, and India could not get the successive fourth generation technology in cotton seeds. In 2024-25, India became a net importer of cotton and its production dropped to 29 million bales. Lesson is very clear: Either we invest in our own agri R&D or buy the best technologies from abroad. Our agri R&D budget of ICAR is about $1.1 billion for all crops, while Bayer, which has the best cotton seeds technology today, is investing euros 2.6 billion in 2024. India needs to heed the advice of PM Vajpayee who once said what IT (information technology) is for India, BT (biotechnology) is for Bharat. Gene editing is likely to be the future of agriculture, and India needs to invest in it for greater competitiveness.(Gulati is Distinguished Professor at ICRIER. Views are personal)

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New Delhi: India’s recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union is expected to deliver significant gains for several Indian sectors, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, leather, and marine products, as the EU remains one of India’s largest and most important trading partners.

The India-EU FTA, finalised in January 2026 after long negotiations, eliminates tariffs on over 90 per cent of goods traded between the two sides.

According to a sectoral analysis by credit rating agency ICRA, the agreement grants India preferential zero-duty access on 97 per cent of EU tariff lines, covering nearly 99.5 per cent of the value of Indian exports, while India will cut or eliminate tariffs on 92 per cent of its tariff lines for EU imports.

The textile and apparel sector is expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries. ICRA noted that duty-free access to the EU market will place Indian exporters on par with competitors such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey, which previously enjoyed tariff advantages. Apparel and home textiles, in particular, are expected to see improved export competitiveness and higher long-term investment.

Pharmaceuticals and healthcare products are also set to benefit under the EU FTA. The EU currently accounts for around 12 per cent of India’s pharmaceutical exports and 46 per cent of its pharma imports.

Removal of EU import tariffs on Indian medicines is expected to boost export competitiveness, while lower EU tariffs on imports of medicines, bulk drugs, and medical devices will reduce domestic input and healthcare costs, ICRA said.

The EU is a key destination for India’s organic chemical exports, accounting for about a quarter of shipments.

Following the FTA’s implementation, Indian chemical companies are expected to improve their competitiveness against global suppliers, including those from China.

Engineering goods such as iron and steel, machinery, and automotive components will also benefit from improved market access, although finished steel exports may continue to face challenges due to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which appears to fall outside the scope of the current deal.

Agricultural and processed food exports, such as tea, coffee, spices, fruits, vegetables, and marine products, will gain preferential access to the EU market. Marine exports are expected to benefit from tariff reductions of up to 26 per cent, supporting coastal employment and export growth.

Labour-intensive sectors such as leather, footwear, furniture, and rubber products are also expected to see gains. At the same time, sensitive sectors, including dairy, cereals, and poultry, have been safeguarded to protect farmers and MSMEs.

Merchandise trade between India and the EU grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7 per cent between 2015-16 and 2024-25, with India maintaining a trade surplus since 2020-21.

“The FTA enhances India’s competitiveness across labour-intensive, agricultural, engineering, services, and advanced manufacturing sectors. It also safeguards micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), farmers, and skilled professionals while strengthening India’s position in European value chains. With effective implementation, bilateral trade is expected to rise well beyond the current USD 137 billion and spur investment, innovation, job creation, and long-term export growth,” ICRA said.

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